The Successful Start project is a partnership between Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute (LSI), The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and Hillsborough County Public Schools. The project team, led by Dr. Amanda Tazaz, provides early elementary school teachers with eight days of mathematics teacher professional development based on Cognitively Guided Instruction. In the 2023-2024 school year, 150 teachers from 20 elementary schools joined the CGI teacher training program as part of the Successful Start project.

In the third quarter of 2024, the LSI team saw continued progress toward the project goals of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Tunoze Gusoma (Schools and Systems) Activity.

The Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University staff featured in FSU's June Faculty and Staff Briefs

Florida State University is hosting four academic fellows from Ukraine for a monthlong visit through the BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program (BridgeUSA UAFP). FSU is the first university in the United States to host fellows through the program.

LSI Reports Encouraging Results From The Primary Teaching Residency Program In Rwanda. The project is showing encouraging results after just two terms. During term two, more than 80 teacher residents (TRs) in the program used targeted instructional strategies and received a performance rating of "meets" or "exceeds" expectations in all three observed lessons in the term. The TRs' knowledge, skills and attitudes in literacy, math and science continued to grow and the TRs continued increasing their engagement with online Canvas and in-person academic programming.

For ten years, Florida State University's Learning Systems Institute (LSI) has administered the U.S. Department of State's Community College Administrator Program (CCAP). In partnership with Santa Fe College, 15 CCAPs have been held for 15 countries. Two of those groups were community college administrators from Ukraine. 

Florida State University’s Ukraine Task Force (UTF) hosted Andrii Paziuk, a professor of international and comparative law at the National Aviation University in Kyiv, Ukraine, on campus June 6-12. The goal of the visit was to connect with colleagues, establish relationships for future collaborations and discuss future opportunities for students in Ukraine.   

Dr. Andrii Paziuk had many reasons to accept the invitation from FSU's Ukraine Task Force and travel to Tallahassee. He came to establish relationships for future collaborations, connect with colleagues in cybersecurity, human rights law, and science and technology, find opportunities for students in Ukraine, and, more importantly, share a message.

Brenda Wawire’s journey with the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) began during her time as a Ph.D. student at Florida State University when she enrolled in a class co-taught by LSI Associate Director for Research and faculty member Dr. Stephanie Zuilkowski. The course marked the beginning of Wawire’s longstanding collaboration with LSI where she is now research faculty.

Dr. Youngran Kim discovered the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University through her work with USAID in Kenya. Years later, she now works with LSI, joining the institute as a research faculty member.